UK prime minister Boris Johnson warned the president that he risked being blamed for a downturn if it happened.

Speaking ahead of his meeting on Sunday with the president, Johnson warned Trump that his trade war was “not the way to proceed,” and risked pushing the global economy into a downturn.

“Apart from anything else, those who support the tariffs are at risk of incurring the blame for the downturn in the global economy irrespective of whether or not that is true,” he told reporters on Saturday.

Watch Trump say he had ‘second thoughts’ on his China trade war.

Johnson said other countries, including the UK are “at risk of being implicated in this.”

“We [the UK] face tariffs of altogether £2.25 billion – that’s the value of the goods affected, £1.1 billion on whisky alone – that we could face if this goes on. This is not the way to proceed.”

He called on the president to change tack and go for an “opening up of global trade,” instead.

“I want to see a dialling down of tensions and I want to see tariffs come off,” he said.

European Council president Donald Tusk also urged Trump to think again, saying on Saturday that “Trade wars will lead to recession, while trade deals will boost the economy.”

Trump denied to reporters that world leaders were pressuring him on the issue.